Russian: Nuclear Coorporation Will Go On

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, March 20, 2003

Tensions between the Kremlin and Washington over the war in Iraq will not damage U.S.-Russian nuclear cooperation, Russia's atomic energy minister said Friday.

Alexander Rumyantsev said the March 12 deal he signed with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to shut down the last three Russian reactors that produce weapons-grade plutonium would go forward despite Russia's opposition to the U.S.-led attack on Iraq.

Under the accord, the United States will spend an estimated $500 million on two new fossil-fuel power plants to replace the reactors, which provide heat and electricity to two remote Siberian cities.

Russia has sharply condemned the U.S.-led attack on Iraq and has said it will boost security at Russian nuclear plants because of an increased threat of terrorism.

Rumyantsev said recent security inspections at nuclear facilities had found "deficiencies" but said on the whole Russia's nuclear complex is "guarded against penetration" and "not susceptible to terrorist acts."

Separately, strong winds caused an electrical short circuit at a nuclear power plant in western Russia, causing at least one reactor to shut down and another unit to reduce power, the plant's administration said Friday.

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The incident occurred in Smolensk, about 220 miles west of Moscow. The short circuit posed no danger and radiation levels did not exceed normal levels, the administration said in a statement.